Alantys
Alantys is a continent located in the far west of the known world. It is separated from the continent of Ros by the Living Sea. Most of the action in The Thirteenth Chronicle takes place in Alantys. The entire continent is ruled by a single political entity known as the Thirteen Territories, which holds fealty to the King of Alantys, who wears the Crown and rules from the city of Trinesse. The terms "The Realm" and "The Thirteen Territories" are normally used interchangeably. People or things from Alantys are referred to as "Alantysene". Nobility In Alantys, only members of noble Houses typically have surnames (i.e. "Argon Ashenhearth" is actually "Argon of House Ashenhearth" in full). The nobility of the realm is actually formed of roughly 5 tiers, which in descending order are: * Royal family * Great Houses * Patron Houses * Vassal Houses * Knightly Houses Great Houses rule each of the Thirteen Territories - such as the Blaises who rule Arrowvale, the Whites who rule the Silver Valleys, and the Ashras who rule the Feastwoods. Patron Houses are those under the Great Houses, such as House Duffray which serves the Ashenhearths, or House Powle which serves the Whites. Underneath them are the vassal Houses (i.e. House Weiss, vassals of House Duffray), and below them are knightly Houses (i.e. House Leger): the difference between the two is that lesser Lords still have the right to dispense justice on their lands while knights do not. Geography Alantys is bordered to the west by the Atlas Sea, to the south by the Living Sea and to the east by the Purple Depths. The continent shares similar geography and geometry to the continent of South America, and is narrow, about 900 miles wide at its widest point, but long, extending for almost 2,000 miles from the Living Sea to the Reach that marks the northern border. The continent's terrain varies immensely. There are significant mountain and hill ranges, such as the Highlands, the River Mountains and the Clifflands. There are also several extensive river networks, most notably the Serpent River and its numerous tributaries, but also the the Last Rush, the Whitewaters and the Crimsonwaters, Purple Waters, to name a few. Climate varies between extremes of heat and cold acRoss the large continent. The North is the only region in which snowfall is common, even in the middle of summer. In the far south the terrain becomes hotter and more arid, and the Summerlands experiences the continent's most extreme heat. Notable offshore islands groups include the Barrier Islands and the Fyre Islands. The continent is also home to immense woodlands, such as the Winter Woods in the North, the Midnight Woods in the Feastwoods, and the Redwoods in Arrowvale. Numerous smaller wooded areas dot the continent. Alantys is separated from the continent of Ros by the Living Sea, its two cities of Aveera and Vystra only a few short days' journey from the Fyre Islands. As well as the vast eastern continent of Ros, other lands are known to exist, namely the ancient continent of Avanos and the far easternmost reach of the known world, Quanshuu. The Fyre Islands lie to the east of Alantys and serves as an abundant trading post between the two continents. A forbidding, mostly-unexplored in the cRoss-continental region of Ros and Avanos called the Dark Lands is also known to exist to the south-east of the continent, but there is little contact between it and Alantys. Some islands are known to exist in the Atlas Sea to the west of Alantys, but the true extent of this ocean is unknown. To the east of northern Alantys lies the easternmost landmass Quanshuu, but is known to be very difficult to reach throught the Purple Depths and the Stormy Sea. Climates and Seasons Alantys' climate shifts from subarctic in the furthest north, to a desert climate in the furthest south, along the border of the Summerlands. Though the Clifflands and the Bell Mountains are farther south, these regions experience cooler climates because of their high altitudes thus making the Summerlands the most arid region of Alantys. In the normal course of events, the furthest north still has light snowfalls even in the longest summers while the Summerlands almost never sees snow, even in the most severe winters. Alantys and Ros both experience seasons of varying length, usually lasting at least three months each. The length of the seasons is completely unpredictable and varies randomly. The savrons keep a close eye on the length of the days in order to try to predict how long the current season will last, but this is an inexact science at best. In the North, the winters are extremely cruel. Lords set aside non-perishable food items for storage against the next winter, while many of the North's most notable strongholds are built in favorable areas, such as Wingcaster on volcanic vents. Some castles, like Wingcaster, have elaborate greenhouses which permit the growing of vegetables even in the harshest winters. Despite these precautions, famine and starvation is common during Northern winters, and is one of the reasons the North has a small population despite its vast size. Regions The realm are divided into thirteen administrative regions, four of which were former independent kingdoms before the Sovantine Invasions. Each region, except the Crownlands, is ruled by a Great House, who in turn are commanded by the King. The Thirteen Regions are: The Silver Valleys Ruled by House White from the city of Lyonhall. The region is noted for its hills and low mountains which borders vast plains. It is bordered from the Highlands by the Whitewaters and bordered from the Bolt by the cRossroads of Tornbridge and the Red Road. Arrowvale Ruled by House Blaise from the city of Ornesse, the second-largest city of Alantys. Arrowvale is also the second-largest territory of Alantys and by far the most fertile and populous, allowing the Blaises to field vast armies and also results in them being wealthier than any other family. It is bordered from the Crownlands by the Freedomfields, the Bolt by the castle Falconhall and separated from the Cape by the Gate of Stars. The Highlands Ruled by House Wyndham from the castle Highreach Stronghold. The principal port of the Highlands is Skydawn, while its most populous town is the hidden Salerian Valley. The Highlands is dominated and mostly covered by the Bell Mountain Ridge and its offshoot chains. Its borders are prowled by hostile hill tribes. It is bordered from the Summerlands by the Lake of Sage, and separated from the Silver Valleys by the Whitewaters. The Crownlands Ruled directly by the King from the city of Trinesse, the largest city in Alantys and the capital of the realm. It is the third largest among the territories. Other notable townships of the Crownlands include Smithsgard, Livinghal, and the Freedomfields. The Crownlands stretch along the shores of Purple Gulf and bordered from Arrowvale by the castle Palvinton. The Fyre Islands Ruled by House Ashenhearth from the castle of Ashdown. Its principal city and port is Ironfist, though it houses many other abundant port-cities such as Ashetown, Red Harbor, Ashenport, and Tornsbury. The abundance of port-cities has made the Islands very rich through trade, since it serves as the primary trading post between Alantys, Ros, Avanos, and Quanshuu, making the Ashenhearths the second richest House in the Territories. The Fyre Islands consists of ten islands and is the largest of the Thirteen Territories but also the most strictly-populated, due the discrimination of the fireborn against the common folk, or people of none-Vareon descent. The major islands of the chain are Flare Island, Burneside Island, and Ironfist Island. Other smaller islands of the region include the Isean Isles, Burnt Islands, Blazen Isle, and Siren Isles. The Fyre Islands has terrains of small forests, small hill chains and vast plains, home to a hardy, warrior Vareon-descent race known as the fireborn. Discrimination against non-fireborn have waned and weakened since the days of Raega IV and Avan Ashenhearth, though most of the fireborn population claim strong blood ties with the Vareon race. The Houses of the islands are strictly inbred between Vareon descendants to keep the bloodlines pure, such as House Ashenhearth, House Duffray, and House Valyreon who hail from pure Vareon families. The fireborn of the Fyre Islands are isolated from the rest of Alantys by the Purple Gulf, giving them a greater sense of national identity than most of the other peoples of the realm, even more than the Northmen or Summermen. The Feastwoods Ruled by House Ashra from the castle Darkwight. Once a part of the North under the rule of the Northern Kings, the Feastwoods is named for its vasts forests that cover most of the territory. The unlovable terrain of the territory results to its small population, where temperatures remain as cold as it is in the North. The Feastwoods is connected to the Red Road by the Five Fingers, which stretches out to Darkwight, Ga's Gallow, Wingcaster, Ravenwood, and the Midnight Gate. It is separated from the Serpent by the Gait, bordered from the River Mountains by the Third Finger and separated from the North by the Branch. The North Ruled by House Embers from the castle of Wingcaster. The North is one of the largest regions of Alantys but also the most sparsely-populated, due the harshness of its winters. The North have smaller terrains of small mountains (the tails of the River Mountains) as well as vast woods and forests. The North has late summer snows even in the highest southern temperatures and thus its population is small. The Reach is the northernmost part of the North in which the landmass curves right to the east, henceforth its name. It separated from the Feastwoods by the Branch and bordered from the River Mountains by the Mountain Tail. Northmen also claim descent from the Vareons, especially its ruling House Embers and other Patron Houses, which often intermarry with families from the Fyre Islands. Though not as strictly inbred as the fireborn, the northmen strongly uphold their Vareon ties than their Sovantine ties. The Cape Ruled by House Vandel from the castle Hawkhigh. Its principal city is Whiteridge. The Cape is a strategic choke point controlled by the formidable Gate of Stars. It is a narrow strip of land and the smallest region of Alantys. It is however, the most heavily populated region north of the Gate of Stars, compared to the River Mountains, the Serpent Riverlands, the Feastwoods, the Rivermouth and the North. It is home to the realm's finest knights, second only to the Bolt. It is bordered from the Crownlands and Arrowvale by the mountain ridge on which the Gate of Stars stand, and separated from the Serpent Riverlands by the Midnight Woods. The Clifflands Ruled by House Dagos from the castle Stormkeep. Its principal city and port is Dustorn. The Clifflands is noted for its plateaus and arid canyons mostly covered by desert and rock. The region is covered by small deserts and high plateaus, which rise from the Foot in the Bolt. The canyons stop in the area of Ghoul's Pass, from which the cliffs descend into arid deserts that border the region from the Summerlands. The Clifflands are separated from the Bolt by the Foot, and bordered from the Summerlands by the Thousandth Cliff in Ghoul's Pass. The River Mountains Ruled by House Took from the castle Riverhand, which stands in the principal city and port of the same name. It is noted for the Black, Dellion, and Green Rivers and its small tributaries that run through the bases of the mountain ridge. Its offshot sloping mountain called the Mountain Tail borders it from the North, its dangerous roads prowled by hostile hill tribes. It is separated from the Rivermouth by the Dellion River and is bordered by the Midnight Gate from the Serpent Riverlands and the Feastwoods. The Serpent Riverlands Ruled by House Foss from the castle Sirenhall. Its principal city and port is Raventhore. The Serpent Riverlands are dominated by the Serpent River and its small tributaries, which are called the Three Heads. Once a part of the Northern Kingdom under the rule of the Northern Kings, the Serpent Riverlands were formed when the kingdom was split into five regions. It is bordered from the Cape by the Midnight Woods. The Bolt Ruled by House Llyr from the castle Starise. Its principal cities and ports are Arrow's End and Tornbridge. Dominated by rolling plains and crossed by the river Whitewaters, the Bolt is one of the most fertile regions and one of the most populated in Alantys. Home to the realm's greatest knights, it includes Tornbridge, a stronghold administered by the Silver Cloaks, or otherwise known as the Silver Brothers. It bridges the gap between Lyonhall, the Bolt, the Clifflands and the Red Road, making it a checkpoint and training ground to pages, squires, and warriors in training. Tornbridge also borders the Bolt from these territories. The Summerlands Ruled by House Azgar from the castle Spectralhigh. Its prinicipal city and port is the Thumb and the Point. It is noted for its tropical climate, as it lies on the equator of the known world. The Summerlands are isolated from the rest of Alantys by the Clifflands, The Redwaters, and the Highlands, making the region hard to reach by land. Tourists who come in the winter have made the region rich through taxation and trade, making House Azgar the third richest House in the realm. The Westron Isles Ruled by House Hellirion from the castle Hellrose. Its principal city and port is Cinderbay. The region is the rivermouth to which the Serpent River's tributaries empty into the sea. It is the smallest of the fourteen regions, merely carved out as an independent region from the River Mountains after the Serpent Wars. Population The population of Alantys extends into many millions, though a precise count has never been attempted. The major cities of the continent have populations in the hundreds of thousands, and each of the Great Houses can field a reasonably-well-equipped army in the tens of thousands. Due to its cold climate and hostile terrain, the Highlands is the most sparcely-populated. The North has one of the smallest overall populations, with huge regions of deserted winter wilderness extending between the major towns and holdfasts. Meanwhile, the prosperous and fertile Arrowvale and Cape is the most heavily-populated, followed closely by the Fyre Islands. There are several notable human ethnic groups currently existing in Alantys: Vareons The Vareons were the original human inhabitants of Alantys, who discovered the landmass during the New World Age. Three hundred years later, the Sovantine came to Alantys after the Doom of Sovencia, seeking shelter from the spontaneous disaster that erased the island city from the face of the world. The Sovantines were rejected by the Alantysene Vareons and hid in the Highlands, in which they rose armies for seventy five years and invaded Alantys, displacing the Vareons everywhere south of the land which is now presently the Cape. The Vareons fled to the eastern uninhabited island group named Fyre, establishing their own colony in isolation there. As a result, the Vareons are still the dominant ethnic group in the Fyre islands, where most of the populace retain Vareon blood in their veins. In the mainland, however, four hundred years of intermarriage with Sovantines has blurred this somewhat. The distinct Vareon features are red or auburn hair, grey eyes, tall stature, and fair skin. Sovantine The majority of the population of Alantys are descended from the Sovantines who invaded the continent four hundred years ago. The Sovantine were settlers of Sovencia, a notably-sized offshore island in the Living Sea. The survivors of the Doom fled to Alantys and hid in the Highlands for survival after its doom, invading the continent later on. The Sovantine remains to be the dominant ethnic group of Alantys, and the bloodline is kept near-pure by the White Kings who did not intermarry with the Vareons. The classic Sovantine features are light hair, light colored eyes, tall stature, and fair skin. Fireborn The fireborn were originally Vareon fugitives and refugees after Avalon's defeat in the Scarlet Wars. The term 'fireborn' were given to the Vareons by the Sovantine invaders for their notable bond with phoenixes, as well as their distinct fiery appearances. While ethnically similar to other regions in the north of Alantys, which also have mixed Vareon and Sovantine ancestry, their isolated geography on the eastern islands separate from the mainland resulted in their culture developing very differently. Rejecting the worship of the Trion Gods of the Sovantine, they retained their own faith based around the Ancestral Faith and their own culture which closely stuck to Vareon customs and practices. Discrimination against common folk ''or non-fireborn were vastly practiced in the islands under the reign of the Fire Kings. This dispute over common folk has, however, waned and weakened under the rule of Lord Raega Ashenhearth IV when his son Avan Ashenhearth brought common folk-refugees to the islands during the Trion Rebellion, of which many had settled in the region and intermarried with the locales. The Houses of the islands keep the strict Vareon custom of marrying only pure-Vareon descendants, thus keeping the pure lineage of the Vareons. The fireborn have retained the ethnic appearance of their Vareon ancestors, mostly of fair stature, hair in the shades of red or auburn, pale to dark grey eyes, and fair, white skin. Summermen The people of the Summerlands are descended from the Qarminites of Ros, the hardy folk of the eastern continent who settled in Ros to escape the Gakharian Invasions, and then intermarried with the local Sovantine and some, though rarely, Vareons. The blood of the Rosi is thus intermingled in the Summermen; Rosi ethnicity is most strongly represented in those who live near the coasts, and weakest in Summermen who live in the interior mountains. They have olive skin, fair stature, and dark curly hair. They have a reputation for being hot-headed and liberal. Unlike the rest of the realm, the Summermen culture is closely tied to Rosi customs and practices. Northmen Unlike most of the populace of Alantys, the Northmen are an ethnic group that comes from both Sovantine and Vareon descent. Though the general population of northmen are from mixed bloodlines of the two races, noble families of the North such as House Embers claim stronger ties with the Vareons than the Sovantines; this is evident through the preference of northern Houses to intermarry with families from the Fyre Islands, to uphold their Vareon lineage. The Northmen are a hardy people born to the cruel winters of the Northern End, and are generally unwelcoming of peoples from other Territories, except the fireborn. The Northmen have very fair skin, and have auburn to dark brown hair. Settlements Alantys is home to several distinct types of settlement: Cities Alantys has a primarily agrarian population, with few major cities relative to its size. The major cities of the continent are, in descending order of prominence: * Trinesse: the capital of Alantys with a population of a million. The largest city of the realm, founded by Eon the Conqueror on the site where Clarion the Great defeated Avalon. * Ornesse: a sister-city of Trinesse, also the second-largest and most populated in the realm. Ruled by House Blaise. * Ironfist: the main city and port of Ironfist Island, the city covers almost all of the island's entirety. It is approximately almost as big as Ornesse, with almost three-fourths of its population. * Lyonhall: the old capital of Alantys, founded by Clarion the Great after he conquered half of the continent. It was established as the seat of House White after the capital was reinstated in Trinesse. * Burneside Port: the largest city on Alantys' east coast, approximately half the size of Trinesse. Ruled by House House Duffray under House Ashenhearth. * Carronfast: the second-largest city of Arrowvale, it is half as big as Ornesse with half its population. Ruled by Houses Millan under House Blaise. * Longtale: the main city of the Cape, it spans almost a third the size of Trinesse, with half its population. Ruled by House Vandel. The likes of Saltinhall, Freedomfields, and Weeping Stone, with populations of a few thousand each, are considered to be large towns rather than cities. Castles Castles are held by the noble houses of Alantys and range in size from the vast, city-sized edifices of Lyonhall and Ashdown to small towerhouses or fortified farmsteads run by landed knights. The size of a castle and in what state of repair it is kept reflects the wealth and power of its ruling family. The most notable castles of Alantys include Ashdown, Castelburne, Wingcaster, Avan's Stronghold, and the Royal Palace. Animals Alantys is home to several notable animal species: Phoenixes Winged fowls of tremendous size and ferocity, capable of releasing fire from its feathers. Originated in the east and trained by the Vareons, who used them to forge their empire. Most phoenixes were destroyed in the Fall of Varea one thousand years ago, leaving the few possessed by the Vareons of the lower cities of Avanos, of which twenty-five phoenixes were brought to Alantys. The last Vareon phoenixes died over a hundred years ago. The ashes of the Last Phoenix is kept in a flask as an heirloom of House Ashenhearth. * The phoenix is taken as the herald of House Ashenhearth. Vherns Black, massive fowls trained as messengers as part of a widespread communications network that links all of the major cities and holdfasts in the realm. They are loosely tied around the real-life hawk, except all are black and larger in size. Astens Beautiful, non-flying fowl with magnificent feathers and a symbol for beauty. They are loosely tied around the real-life peacock. In the Books Alantys is depicted as a continent in the books, much like the size of South America. The three least populous territories of the realm are the Northern End, the Feastwoods, and the Summerlands - which all also happen to be the "fringe" regions where Sovantine culture isn't totally dominant (including the Fyre Islands, not considering the density of its population). There is a difference between lowest ''total population, however, and population density. While all three have quite low populations relative to the other territories, the Westron Isles has the least total population. The Feastwoods seem to have the next-lowest population. The Fyre Islands without Ironfist Island would have a total population almost as small as the North, but the city of Ironfist bloats up its numbers. The Westron Isles' population density is deceptive: almost the entire population is crammed into the bay and at the foot of the River Mountains. According to the author Eury Xo, the pronounciation of Alantys is "a-lan-TIS".